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Thanks to Lik-Sang.com for the pictures used in this review! (Lik-Sang no longer trading)

She's so good looking... Mai isn't bad either! :P

The wait is over and it is finally here. It actually seems to me like a really long time since this arcade stick for the Playstation 2 was originally announced, mainly because I was so anxious to get my hands on one. To be honest, although many of the Neo Geo ports to the PS2 are quite good, the one thing that has always spoilt them for me is the lack of decent controls to play them with. Unlike many people, I am actually a fan of the of the Playstation 2 pad, but it really isn't suited to playing Neo Geo games at all. Besides that, I am so used to playing these games with the classic Neo Geo stick, so any enjoyment I could get out of playing Metal Slug 3 or King of Fighters on the PS2 was reduced slightly, due to me just not feeling right using the PS2 pad.

Even the box looks impressive!

A couple of days after my order was sent out from Lik-Sang.com, it arrived and it was a very fortunate day for it to turn up because I was off work, which meant I had a good few hours to test it out; and I couldn't wait to tear the package open!

My first thought upon opening up the box and taking the stick out was that it felt almost identical to the original Neo Geo stick. The classic Neo Geo sticks are still amongst the most sturdy controllers ever made for a home system in my opinion - the two that I have still work perfectly, and I've had them for years. When I purchased those sticks, they were actually second hand already so they had probably taken a bit of a hammering before I even laid my hands on them, but even so they have never let me down. This is what I was worried about when this stick was originally announced; whether it would be of at least comparable quality to the genuine article, and if it would work as well. Well, as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I wasted no time in loading up a few games to find out... I also decided to try some non-SNK games as well, just to see how well it would work with them.

Close up of the stick

OK, first things first - the actual stick itself. At first glance it looks identical to the original, and it is micro switched just the same, so you get that nice solid clicky noise when you move it. I hear many people talking about their dislike of clicky joysticks like this, but personally I much prefer them this way so it is fine with me. Anyway, although it looks and sounds identical, if you are really picky like me you'll notice that it is slightly looser than some of the classic Neo sticks were. I say "some" because out of the two original Neo Geo sticks I have, one of them has a very tight stick, whereas the other is a bit looser and has more movement in it. This stick feels a little loose like that one, although that is fine with me because I prefer it this way. Either way I think it's just about right and you shouldn't have any problems with it. It remains to be seen whether the ball on this stick with crack in the same way as the old sticks sometimes did, but hopefully it won't!

The button layout has changed a little to
accommodate the PS2's extra buttons

As you can see from the pictures, the basic button layout has not changed, so the standard four buttons along with Start & Select are in the same positions as they are normally. However, four extra buttons have been added; underneath the first button there are two smaller ones (L1 & L2) as well as two more above the fourth button (R1 & R2). To be honest, these buttons are too small to use properly in the heat of an intense battle in a fighting game, so any beat 'em up that uses more than four buttons isn't all that playable. Without changing the layout completely (which would ruin the point of having a replica of the Neo stick), it's hard to see how they could have done this any better, so it isn't really a complaint, it's just the way it is. After all, the stick is obviously aimed at Neo fans, so it isn't really an issue, but if you really want a stick that you can use on Street Fighter and other games requiring five buttons upwards, then you would be best to look elsewhere, possibly at a Hori stick, X-Arcade or something similar.

The actual buttons do feel ever so slightly different to the originals too, but not in any way that would affect your use of the stick at all. The L & R buttons also feel a little different to the rest as according to the box those ones are "rubber switches", while the main buttons are "keyboard switch". The order of the four standard buttons from left to right is Square, X, Triangle, Circle.

Gameplay

The first game I loaded up was The King of Fighters 2003. Everyone knows what a quality port this game is (probably the best PS2 port to date in fact), but as I mentioned above the only problem I had with it before was playing it with a PS2 pad, which just wasn't very satisfying at all. With the Neo Geo Fighter Stick however, it plays like a dream! I spent a couple of hours completing the game with a few teams, and although I'm not at the highest skill level when it comes to these games, I had no problem in pulling out any of the moves and combos that I would have done on the real Neo Geo. So far so good! Next up I tried Metal Slug 3 - I don't have the MVS carts to the Slug series anymore (which is a depressing fact I know!), but a quick half an hour blast on the PS2 version made me remember that using a good stick is the way to play Metal Slug, and I really don't know how I have lived with using a pad for Metal Slug just recently.

After trying out a few other SNK games, a friend of mine came over to play some Tekken 5, which I had also just received. We both played through the game a couple of times using the stick, and while we both agreed that the stick itself is fine for Tekken and we had no problems pulling most moves out after a few minutes of getting used to it, the layout isn't ideal for Tekken. You do really need a block of four buttons to play it the way it was intended, so in that respect a standard PS2 pad or maybe another arcade stick is the best bet for this game. Don't get me wrong, it is possible to become used to the layout, the stick does work very well, and if you were a newcomer to Tekken it perhaps wouldn't bother you - but for those of us that have been playing Tekken for years, it's really not the best choice.

Next up came some other 2D games. We put Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Edition on and then Capcom Vs SNK 2, and to be honest I knew from the start that they weren't going to be games I'd play using this stick. Again, there is no problem with pulling out any moves, but because these Capcom games require six buttons it can be quite difficult. The L & R buttons are just too small to press in the heat of a battle, so unless you can get used to that you won't have much fun with Street Fighter. I admit I did sort of get used to it, but I think I'll stick with some other way of playing them.

On a more positive note though, I tried playing Espgaluda (a shoot 'em up for those that don't know) and it was very good indeed. The stick was responsive enough, and the game only uses four buttons anyway, so there is no problem there. I'd have to say that the Neo Geo Fighter Stick is highly recommended for this type of game, and it's far preferable to using a pad in my opinion.

Games Tested With This Stick:

King of Fighters 2000/2001 & 2002/2003 Double Packs

Works as great as you would expect! Very nice indeed!!!

King of Fighters '94 Rebout

As above... it feels great to play Rebout with this stick!!!

Metal Slug 3 & 4

This series just doesn't feel the same to me unless played with a Neo Geo stick. Highly recommended!

The King Of Fighters Maximum Impact

This game might not be 2D KOF, but it actually controls quite well on the Neo stick once you get used to it!

Tekken 5

Surprisingly plays quite well using this stick. Tekken does only use 4 buttons, but the layout isn't ideal for this series. If you can get used to that, the stick works great!

Street Fighter Anniversary Edition

It controls well, but playing a fighter that requires 6 buttons is not the best idea with this stick unfortunately...

Capcom Vs SNK 2

As above...

Espgaluda

This is the only shoot 'em up that I tried, but it works great. Any shoot 'em ups would be great with this stick, and it's far more fun than using the standard PS2 pad.

Overall Rating

This arcade stick is exactly what it is intended to be - a replica of the original Neo Geo stick, and from the point of view of an SNK/Neo Geo fan it doesn't disappoint in any way. The only bad thing about it is that it's not really suitable for use in a lot of other games out there due to the button layout, but if you are dying for a way to play Neo Geo ports that is as close to playing them on the real hardware as possible, then this is the ideal accessory for you! Now I have one I couldn't go back to using anything else at all, and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to anyone, as it is well worth the price. At the time of writing it will set you back about $70 which may seem like a lot, but it's less expensive than certain other alternatives, and I've spent time using sticks that are cheaper (such as Nuby's Soul Calibur stick), and none of those can hold a candle to this fine piece of hardware if you ask me.

As a side note, the stick does not feature a rumble feature, but quite honestly no-one that wanted to use a serious arcade stick would want that. As for durability, the stick has not been around long enough for anyone to get an idea of how long they will be able to withstand punishing playing sessions on a regular basis, but it does feel very well made and just as good quality as the classic sticks, so I can't see it being an issue. I haven't actually opened the stick up to have a look inside it (and I probably won't risk it because I'm quite heavy handed :P), but I think the components used are good enough.

An interesting thing to think about is that if you needed an extra stick to use on the real Neo Geo console, you could possibly connect one of these via a classics convertor. Unfortunately I have not been able to try it personally due to my Supergun not working properly right at this moment in time, but I can't see any reason why it would not work. The only issue I can think of is that the buttons on this stick might end up being configured in the wrong order - not a problem in some games where you can manually change the config in game, but in others it could be an issue. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has actually tried it out though, so if you have then let me know how well it works! I'm also interested in hearing whether or not this stick works with the Xbox or any other console via the use of similar adaptors, so if you have tried it then please let me know the results. If not I'll try to check them out myself once I get the chance...

To sum it all up, all I will say is that if you are a true Neo Geo fan, and you really want to play ports on the PS2 the proper way, then this is a must buy. I still rate the classic Neo Geo stick as one of the best controllers ever, and this stick rates up there alongside that in my humble opinion. Suffice to say, this stick feels 99% the same as the original, meaning it is perfect for any of the SNK ports on the PS2. It's not just a nostalgia thing - in my opinion this really is one of the best accessories a true Neo Geo fan could buy for their PS2!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

It would be a straight 9 if not for the fact you can't really use it properly in games that require more than four buttons.

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